Conceptual Framework For Volunteer Action And Acts Of Solidarity

This book is the result of research carried out with the hope of taking the first steps toward discovering and opening society’s eyes to the universe of both formal and informal practices of solidarity in Mexico and the characteristics that define them. This work is the product of a study that the Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía, A.C., (Cemefi, Mexican Center for Philanthropy) decided to encourage in order to understand, explain, make known, and eventually promote the actions undertaken by the citizens of this country in solidarity with others and as volunteers. In the course of these pages it will be possible to outline some of the main volunteer activity and acts of solidarity practiced by Mexicans. Basic coordinates will be traced to contribute to elucidating where and how they are distributed in the country. Also, the value of the time this voluntary work represents will be covered. It will also be possible to observe the map of regional differences and become acquainted with a diagnosis of different ways in which people collaborate, both horizontally and vertically, in social organizations. The dynamics of voluntary actions of solidarity inside organizations – the privileged place of analysis in order to locate the volunteer – and outside of them will also be examined. It is important to point out that, as we shall see later, there are subjects who practice solidarity with others outside formal spheres and the organizations of civil society, and this activity is also important to recognize and validate within the scope of social investigation. This book is a joint effort, as well as an interdisciplinary effort, in connection with a shared concern: getting to know the many-sided and, until now, little explored trend of volunteers and voluntary actions of solidarity in Mexico. Hence, the purpose of this research is to analyze these activities. Both the subject of study and the unit of analysis of these actions are in and of themselves.